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The good news is that there's nothing wrong with your phone; the bad news is that something is definitely up with Google's SMS app. Android Police reported on the issue yesterday, specifically that the app may, at some point, stop showing notifications for new messages. The bug is affecting enough users that there are twoseparate posts about it on r/Android—the older one indicating issues with the app going as far back as July.

Google has yet to even acknowledge the bug, let alone provide a fix for it. For now the best remedy is to switch to another texting app. I'm currently using Pulse, but have enjoyed using Textra previously; the latter seems to be the app of choice for the r/Android crowd.

Are you having notification issues with Android Messages? Let us know...

Having won the war on smartphone bezels (kinda) the world's biggest phone maker is ready to move on to the next big thing: the bendable display. According to The Indian Express, the first consumer device with this technology has already been certified in South Korea; it's to be called the Galaxy X and will presumably be some sort of anniversary device for the brand.

Never mind that the original Galaxy was released in 2009, or that battery life is probably going to be terrible for that paper-thin display in the photo directly above. I think the idea is actually to make something that the user can fold and unfold like a newspaper, as demonstrated in this concept video:

Perhaps the battery will be spread out over the entire back of the sheet? No idea, really... We'll have to wait and see what Samsung is able to deliver next year. Best not to expect a headphone jack in this one, I think.

Way back in December of 2013 I bought a Google-branded inductive charger for my Nexus 4. The technology immediately won me over; there was no fast-charging technology to speak of at the time, and thus no drawbacks to dropping my phone on a charging mat beside my desktop computer. Having my phone always juiced up and ready to go was pretty great.

Around this time IKEA started selling a floor lamp with an inductive charging pad built-in, and at least one coffee shop near me had wireless charging embedded in its counters. As even the mighty Samsung got behind the nascent Qi charging standard, a future with less wires looked increasingly possible. People were even talking about inductive bowls that you could dump all of your electronics in to charge as you walked through the threshold of your home.

And then fast charging happened. Wireless charging never really went away, of course, but for me it became harder and harder to justify a slow wireless charge over a wired one that could get my phone battery to 100% in about an hour.

Cut to the present day, where the new iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X all support the Qi inductive charging standard. Again, inductive charging never went away, but with Apple supporting it I'd expect to see a lot more inductive chargers in coffee shops across North America. And soon.

The new iPhones also support fast charging, but only through additional accessories—namely, a USB-C to Lightning cable and separate 29 watt brick. I honestly think that wireless charging is going to end up being the bigger deal, whether you're an iPhone user or not. I'd even go so far as to predict that next year will see a renewed interest in Qi-compatible Android phones.

In the meantime, here's a question for iOS enthusiasts: which are you more excited about, wireless charging or fast wired charging?

For anyone who will ever visit Sri Lanka (and you totally should) here's a quick guide to getting mobile service there. Although carriers in both Canada and USA offer "roam like home" packages—where you access your plan's data bucket anywhere in the world for an additional daily fee—it's often cheaper to get a local SIM when you arrive. Case in point: for the equivalent of about $9 USD each my girlfriend and I were able to get 4GB of data (plus an extra 5 GB of "overnight" data) that lasted through the entirety of our 10 days on the island.

This special tourist package is available through Sri Lanka's number one mobile carrier, Dialog. Getting set up was easy but not an experience that I would call pleasant. There's a Dialog shop right in the Arrivals Hall of Bandaranaike International Airport that's open 24 hours—perfect for us as our inbound flight from Hong Kong didn't land until close to midnight. They only accept cash but fortunately for us there was a currency exchange in the same Arrivals Hall that was also open.

After taking our money the Dialog rep robotically set up the SIM on one of our phones and then left it there on the counter without telling me it was ready; he didn't even bother with the second phone. I eventually got the hint and set up the second SIM myself, using the settings from the first one. In so doing I noticed that the home SIM on my first phone—a dual-SIM OnePlus 3—was disabled for absolutely no reason. Thanks, jerk...

I did speed tests all over the island (when I remembered to) and not once did I ever see a 4G signal while I was there. That in itself wasn't a problem, but the sometimes spotty coverage took a huge hit on our phone batteries, as they desperately hunted for a signal to lock on to. To keep my phone juiced up for the next photo opp I got into the habit of keeping it in airplane mode until I actually needed data for something.

In other words, Sri Lanka might not be the best holiday destination for the obsessed Instagrammer or YouTube Livestreamer but it's definitely worth visiting for its Cultural triangle, friendly people and amazing food!

October 4th will apparently be the date for the official unveiling of Google's second-generation Pixels, but thanks to DroidLife we've got an early look at colour options for both models—and their price tags, too!

Pixel 2

The Pixel 2 will be available with either 64 or 128 GB of storage, and will retail for $649 and $749 USD respectively. Google will offer financing plans for each—either $27.04 or $31.21 USD per month over 24 months.

Colours are as follows:

"Kinda Blue"

"Just Black"

"Clearly White"

Pixel 2 XL

Also sold with either 64 or 128 GB of storage, the larger Pixel 2 XL will set you back either $849 or $949 USD. Financing options are $35.38 and $39.54 USD per month for 24 months. There will be just two colour options for this one:

Black

White

I myself am not a Pixel guy; you can blame Google's entirely unnecessary vendor partition for that. But with timely software updates and what's likely to be one of the better Android cameras it's easy to see the Pixel's appeal.

As you read this I'll be waiting at Toronto International Airport for a morning flight to Hong Kong, and then onwards to Colombo. I'm not entirely sure why, to be honest; this particular vacation destination was the girlfriend's idea...

LG just pulled back the curtain on its other 2017 flagship at IFA in Berlin. Android Police is already calling it the most refined phone that the company has ever built. Gone is the gimmicky second screen from the V20, but LG's unique dual-camera setup—standard and wide angle lenses instead of standard and telephoto—remains. This is also LG's first phone in a while with an OLED screen.

Make no mistake here: with the V30, LG has its crosshairs on the Galaxy S8. And by first accounts they appear to have done a pretty good job. Here's a quick rundown of notable specs:

AT&T is donating $350,000 to aid communities following Hurricane Harvey, which includes $100,000 to the Greater Houston Community Fund, $100,000 to the American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Fund and $50,000 to the Coastal Bend Community Foundation in South Texas.

Additionally, the AT&T Foundation will match employee donations up to $50,000 each to the AT&T Employee Disaster Relief Fund, which supports the thousands of AT&T employees who live in the areas affected by the storms and Team Rubicon, a disaster response veterans service organization.

In addition to waiving casual call and text fees, effective August 26 through September 8, 2017, for Sprint, Boost and Virgin Mobile customers, Sprint will waive data overage fees for customers in Texas and Louisiana impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Fees will be proactively waived during the specified timeframe.

To help our customers connect with loved ones in the path of Hurricane Harvey, T-Mobile is making it free for customers, including prepaid customers, to call or text from impacted areas of Texas and Louisiana.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of this powerful storm,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile.

From Aug. 25-Sept. 1, T-Mobile and MetroPCS customers in the following area codes can call anywhere in the US for free:

Verizon today announced support of South Texas through a $10 million pledge to fund Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

Verizon is also offering support for the relief efforts in the following ways:

Relieving postpaid customers of data, talk and text charges and giving prepaid customers an extra 3 GB to be used for data, talk and text from August 26 through September 15.

Deploying mobile equipment including Cells on Wheels (COWs) and Cells on Light Trucks (COLTS) to supplement service in areas of South Texas that need extra network capacity.

Working closely with several federal and local government agencies to help support first responders on the ground with much needed communications services.

Staffing shelters with Verizon employees in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio to assist first responders and displaced residents with mobile charging, internet access and other communications needs.

Along with its subsidiary Oath, the company is providing financial support to residents of Houston and South Texas with dollar-for-dollar matches of employees' contributions to select relief-focused organizations.

Offering emergency financial assistance to employees who have been affected by this tragedy through both its employee assistance program and its VtoV program where employees can donate funds to help fellow employees affected by a natural or personal disaster.

In addition, to reinforce our long-term commitment to the communities we serve, Verizon will be offering its more than 10,000 employees who work in the states of Texas and Louisiana the opportunity to volunteer for the Harvey recovery effort over the coming months and receive up to a week of paid volunteer time.

As a Pebbler I'm supposed to hate Fitbit with a passion, despite the fact that they've mostly made good on their promise to keep Pebble servers up and running through the end of 2017. But I'm also a big fan of mobile tap-and-pay solutions, especially if they actually work in Canada. And it turns out that Fitbit's new Ionic smartwatch, made official yesterday, supports NFC-based payments from your wrist.

For some perspective on this, Apple Pay already enables wrist-based payments with an Apple Watch, and any Android Wear device with NFC should have the same functionality. The biggest hurdle for Fitbit Pay will inevitably be the ugliness of its first proper smartwatch—it's every bit as hideous as the leak we saw earlier this month.

Last October I wrote about the egregious outright price of the Pixel XL in Canada—over $1,100 CAD for the 128 GB model. Midway through 2017 it seems that $1,000 USD is fast becoming the norm for a stretched display over a flagship phone. And if you happen to live in Australia and are a fan of the Galaxy Note series Samsung is expecting you to pony up $1,500 AUD for the latest version of that device.

It's not just an Android problem, either... Apple is expected to début its 10th anniversary iPhone with a price tag in excess of $1,000 USD and, according to at least one survey, prospective buyers seem fine with that.

I suppose an argument can be made that smartphone OEMs are merely passing on the R&D costs that make this product cycle's record-breaking screen-to-body ratios possible. But consider also that these same phones are in some ways downgrades from what came before. The Galaxy Note 8 has a smaller battery than the Note 7 (presumably so that it won't explode), Andy Rubin's high-priced Essential Phone has no waterproofing and neither it, the iPhone 8 or this year's Pixel series from Google will have a headphone jack.

With these compromises in mind I have to ask: Are we actually getting a reasonable value from this year's near-bezel-less flagships?

The only thing I can add is that you can buy a Data Pass on a ONE plan for $20 that offers 1Gb of high speed international data, good for 10 days of use. Not particularly cheap, but quick and easy. ...